How ‘Islands' Producer Augenschein Segued From Foreign-Language Arthouse Fare to English-Language Elevated Genre Movies
German production company Augenschein has just added 'The Weight,' starring Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe, to its slate. Company founders Jonas Katzenstein and Maximilian Leo talk to Variety about how they made the shift from foreign-language arthouse fare to English-language elevated genre movies, with stars attached.
Despite its very German-sounding name — which roughly translates as the 'shine of the eye' — Augenschein has the global market firmly in its sights. As for the films, they are defined by their 'signature-style directing,' Leo says.
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Its Berlin lineup is led by Jan-Ole Gerster's thriller 'Islands,' starring Sam Riley, Stacy Martin and Jack Farthing, which world-premieres Sunday in the Berlinale Special Gala section, with Protagonist handling world sales.
Other films on its slate include David Lowery's pop melodrama 'Mother Mary,' starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Cole, with A24 handling worldwide distribution; and Brian Kirk's action thriller 'The Death of Winter,' formerly known as 'The Fisherwoman,' starring Emma Thompson, and produced with Stampede Ventures.
'The Weight,' set in Oregon in 1933, is directed by Padraic McKinley. It is produced by Simon Fields and Nathan Fields for Fields Entertainment, Ryan Hawke for Under the Influence, and Katzenstein and Leo at Augenschein.
The shift to English-language elevated genre films came after 2017, which Katzenstein describes as their 'peak year for world cinema,' when they had a film each in Sundance, Berlin and Cannes, and three films in Venice, winning a Berlin Silver Bear with 'Ana, My Love.'
'We thought that's our top year. Everything is marvellous. The festival record was great. But all these movies, there was no real impact on the market besides the festival. So that felt a little frustrating,' Katzenstein says. It provoked a 'producer midlife crisis,' Leo adds.
Katzenstein continues: 'So, we thought, let's use these director-driven movies, but transform them into English-language movies with Hollywood stars, and then there's much more marketing power behind it, much more attention. We can tell the same stories, but there's more potential with this approach.'
The shift began with 2019's plane hijacking thriller '7500,' starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, which 'opened a lot of doors for us,' Leo says.
Having learned the hard way to finance film with foreign-language arthouse fare, Katzenstein and Leo surprised agents in L.A. when they were looking to sign talent. When they were asked how much money they needed, Leo says, they responded, ''Oh no, we don't need money,' because we already knew how to finance our movies. That was something special. Also, it gave us creative control.'
Katzenstein adds, 'Economically, it became the best experience we ever had. It was our 23rd movie, and it made more than the first 22 combined, easily.'
Looking at the state of the market for independent films like theirs today, Katzenstein says it is 'challenging, but still possible; the pre-sale market is a little more difficult.'
Leo says with a smile, 'We used to do impossible to finance movies, and now they are hard to finance.' Recent changes to the German film law have been a 'huge help,' Leo adds. 'Germany has one of the strongest film funding systems in the world.'
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